Objective Markers 101

Good morning readers, today I'd like to talk about objective markers.
     Most Warhammer 40K games are fought over objectives.  I prefer to charge my army into some nicely painted objective markers rather than the green acrylic laser cutouts made by G.W.  Call it picky, but when I'm putting my carefully painted, prize winning Nurgle army on the table, I want to be inundated with equally matched terrain and objective markers.
     That said, I am going to show a bit of a step-by-step on how I go about creating unique objective markers to bring to tournaments.  Follow along as I share some of my modeling tips and tricks to help enhance your game.

Step 1:
     Pick a suitable base for the objective marker.  The base size should accommodate all of the items that you intend on adding to your objective marker.  A good size for objective marker bases is 60mm.  This size will allow you to add plenty of details to the objective, yet the overall size will not be so big that it intrudes on the playability of the game.  This is the size I will be using for the example.
Step 2:
     It is generally easier to paint and flock the base prior to adding the extra details such as ammo cans, barrels, etc...  Lets take a look at how I started mine for this tutorial.

     Ok, so what we have is our 60mm base, some of my asphalt mix and general sand and stone as a base layer.  After you have a good base layer, the next step is to prime it, use whatever color you want.
     Next, I added a pallet and a parking cone.  Then I laid down all of the base layers of paint, and weathered it a bit and added in some flock.  Now the base is starting to take form.

Step 3:  

     Now is a good time to get a feel for where you want to place the "junk" on your objective marker.  For this tutorial I have prepared some random bits to add on to the objective marker.  It's quite easy to come up with 100 different ways to organize your bits on the base, but I suggest snapping a picture of the ones you really like, because we still need to paint all of the bits.  The reason I organize the pieces now is so that I know what will fit and what wont.  There is no reason to build and paint something that won't be going on the base.  

Step 4:

     Paint all of the bits you're planning on adding to the base and you're done!  EASY! 

New Blood Angels Stormraven

New Stormraven to be released for pre-order: 
Is it just me, or is this model equivalent to the album 'Chinese Democracy' released by Guns N Roses and heavily anticipated for many years which was AWFUL, yet still everyone bought?  I kind of think that the GW Fanboy's out there will get one just because, but I must say that this thing looks AWFUL just as 'Chinese Democracy' played awful after 15 years of waiting.
Maybe I'm just too picky...
Well, what are your thoughts?

Abaddon The Despoiler

     Greetings all, tonight I managed to finish some of the blending on the cape and get the armor blackened to my liking.  I also drilled a couple of holes and installed some magnets for some good ole' fashion arm swapping.      
     This idea was inspired be Frugal Dave's Blog titled "A Year of Frugal Gaming" which covers the topic of hobbying on a budget.  I had the terminator lord model already laying about and the sprue contains a dozen or so weapon arms that I thought I'd magnetize to get the versatility out of the kit.  Also, following in Dave's footsteps, since the model was laying around, it means that I didn't have to spend ANY money on it, so building and painting it would be FREE FUN!
     Seems a simple concept, but from experience, ADHD in army building is almost inevitable.  Thanks Dave for getting me back on track!
Now for some pics

Warhammer 40K Orks

Today I am posting a commission for some Warhammer 40K Orks.  The customer wants me to efficiently paint 'DA Green Tide' for him which will be quite a labor, so I was experimenting with some quick but nice looking techniques and here is what I came up with.  Please share your comments and criticisms, as they are very helpful in providing high quality miniatures!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend folks!
~TTG~

Traitor Guard Renegade Ogryn Berserkers II

Well, its time for a New Year's update.  The Ogryn Berserker squad is coming along nicely.  I have managed to get the models about 80% painted, leaving me only the extra details to finish.  Please leave me some comments as I feel they are missing something, but I cannot quite put my finger on it.  Maybe you can help!  Incoming Pics:

Happy New Year from TTG

Hello everyone, I just wanted to say Happy New Year!  I am hopeful that 2011 will be a great year for the wargaming community as a whole, packed with plenty of events and gatherings all around the world.
Some news for TTG Bunker:
     1)  Store to open in March
     2)  Traitor Guard intro army should be nearing completion.  I plan to do one squad per month.  I know this may be a slow pace for some, but there are so many other projects that TTG will be taking on this year, I think that a monthly traitor guard post will be all that I have time for.
     3)  I plan to do at least one tutorial per month as well.  Look for an extension on the "Casting with resin"  series,  and perhaps some of the first youtube videos will go up with this series.
    4)  As stated above, I plan on posting some of my tutorial vids to youtube, stay tuned for the user information and follow along at home as we undertake many building and painting projects.
     5)  Terrain, Terrain, Terrain!  Look out for articles titled TerraiNation where we will take a deep look at your not-so-typical terrain pieces and gaming tables.  I plan on using some of the casting tutorial pieces to put together some highly detailed one-of-a-kind terrain pieces.
     6)  Battle Reports-  One of my new years resolutions was to play at least one 40K game per month and film a battle report.  Look for these to come.

There are many other things that I would like to see accomplished this year, and I'll be sure to fill you in on them.  Until next time, happy gaming!

~TTG